Whetstone Typology: Or the First Shipwreck of Turid Fiskarbekk and Marine Archaeologists Who Had to Think Again

摘要

Finds from the Viking period, the middle ages and from more recent historical trading places and towns in northern Europe show that the export of whetstones from Eidsborg in the Telemark district of southern Norway has a history of more than 1,000 years. The water-based route from the quarry area, 600 m above sea level, to the nearest shipping port consists of 120 km of lakes, rivers and portages. This article takes up the export history in the light of a recently discovered cargo of whetstones found in Flåvann, Telemark. The history of the recovery of the find shows that the cargo examined most probably leads to an incident in the 1820s and, to a woman named Turid Fiskarbekk. The find leads to a wider perspective, more specific to the life of Turid Fiskarbekk. Therefore the article presents a side-story about her, where the intention is to show how integrating a gender perspective in maritime archaeology makes new knowledge possible.